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CityLedger

Boston vs San Juan

Metro-area medians — Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area vs San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Boston comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Boston and San Juan cost about the same to live in, but Boston households earn about 285% more.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Boston, MA
$57,564
take-home / yr · 23% to tax
$53,169
real value after local prices
San Juan, PR
$61,314
take-home / yr · 18% to tax
No local price index — real value not shown.

On $75,000 for just you, San Juan leaves you about $8,145/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Boston
San Juan
Livability (CityLedger)
83/100
38/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
108.3
—
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$108,829
—
Median household income
$117,825
$30,640
Median rent
$2,093/mo
$620/mo
Median home value
$681,100
$152,300
Unemployment
3.9%
7.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
53%
33%
Average commute
31.9 min
30 min
Air quality (median AQI)
43
49
Avg temperature
50°F
76°F

Choose Boston for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Median household income
  • + Unemployment
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Boston profile →

Choose San Juan for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Average commute
Full San Juan profile →

Boston vs San Juan — frequently asked

Which has higher household income, Boston or San Juan?
Boston has the higher median household income — $117,825 versus $30,640 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 285% more.
Which has cheaper rent, Boston or San Juan?
San Juan has cheaper rent — a median of $620/mo versus $2,093/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).